EasyJet pulls 'insulting' Margate ads

Efforts to regenerate Margate include the construction of the Turner Contemporary art gallery

14 January 2013 • 12:00am

The budget airline faced criticism after it ran poster advertisements on the rail network declaring: "This year, end up in Malaga, not Margate."

Locals in the Kent resort took offence at the company publicly poking fun at their town, and took to social networking sites such as Twitter to rally to its defence.

One user, named @seasidelandlady, tweeted: "@easyJet How VERY dare you talk about OUR town like that, you can keep your cheap trips, and cheap jibes £letsallstacationatmargate Grrr."

Will Scobie, a local resident and councillor, said easyJet had picked the wrong target for its ad campaign, and pointed out that Rough Guides, the guidebook publishers, placed the Kentish town alongside such world renowned attractions as Dubrovnik, Stockholm; and the Chilean city of Valparaiso, as one of the top places to visit in 2013.

He said: "Margate is a fantastic town for people to visit. We've just been named as one of the top 10 places in the world to visit, we've got exciting local shops that you can't find anywhere else, the new Turner Contemporary art gallery and an air show this summer.

"EasyJet picked the wrong place to insult with their campaign."

A spokesman for EasyJet apologised and confirmed it had stopped running the ads.

He said: "There was no intended criticism of the town but, of course, we apologise to any residents of Margate who have been offended by the campaign."